School Days
by cleotheo
Summary: A collection of Dramione themed moments set at Hogwarts. Each chapter is a new moment, in a different universe. Draco and Hermione are the main characters, but other people and pairings feature in different moments. Includes plenty of fluff, humour and romance.
1. Apology

**A/N – This is the first of four open ended collections I will begin posting over the next few weeks. The collections will feature small snippet style chapters, all from different universes. Some of these chapters could quite possibly feature (in some form or another) in longer stories at later points. But right now, I either don't have a story for them, I don't have a complete story idea for them, or the story I envision them in isn't even close to been wrote.**

 **Any ideas are welcome, although I can't guarantee using them or even writing them any time soon. Apart from a couple of stories which have my main focus (At the minute COTD, and a longer war based drama) I just have to write what's in my head at the time. I'm also interested to hear which collection pieces people are eager to read more about.**

 **Since the collections are ongoing, there will be no publishing schedule. I write these collection pieces when something enters my head, or I'm looking for something short and sweet and consult my notebooks. As such, after I've published the first few chapters in this collection there might be months in between updates. But whenever I write a new collection piece for this story, I'll get it published as quickly as possible.**

 **This collection is for my school based stories. All stories in this collection are based around Hogwarts, although all vary in universe. This first story – Apology – is set in the canon universe, in third year the day after Hermione hits Draco.**

* * *

 **Apology.**

Hermione Granger awoke knowing exactly what she had to do, even if it was something she wasn't looking forward to doing. Whether she liked it or not, she had to go and apologize to Draco Malfoy. The previous evening she'd hit the blond Slytherin when she and her friends had found him gloating alongside his friends over the upcoming execution of the Hippogriff, Buckbeak. And whether he deserved the smack or not, it was still wrong of her to have lashed out and hit him. She was better than that, and she knew apologising to him was the only way to alleviate her conscience.

Heading down to the common room, she found her best friend, Harry Potter sitting staring into the empty fireplace. Hermione had to wonder if he'd been there all night, thinking about what could have been if his godfather, Sirius Black, hadn't had to go on the run again. After spending the year thinking that Sirius was out to get him, the truth had emerged the previous evening following a showdown with the wizard who had truly betrayed Harry's parents, Peter Pettigrew. However, thanks to Pettigrew escaping shortly after the truth was revealed, Harry was once again all alone, his chance of having a family slipping through his fingers once again.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked as she perched on the seat next to her best friend.

"I guess," Harry replied quietly as he turned to face Hermione. "Do you fancy going to see Ron after breakfast?"

Their other best friend, Ron Weasley, was in the hospital wing, recovering from a broken leg he'd gotten the previous night. However, with magic he would likely be alright later on in the day and chances were he'd be discharged before the end of the day.

"I would, but there's something else I have to do first," Hermione answered with a sigh.

"What?" Harry asked, wondering what could be more important than Ron.

"I have to go and apologise to Malfoy," Hermione said.

"Why?" Harry looked at Hermione as though she was crazy to even consider apologising to the blond boy they all detested. "He deserved that smack you gave him."

"Even if he did, it doesn't make it right," Hermione argued. "Violence is never the answer."

"Maybe it is with the likes of him," Harry muttered.

"You don't believe that," Hermione stated. "Anyway, the point is, I'm going to apologise. Chances are he'll throw it back in my face, but at least I'll know I've done the right thing."

"Rather you than me," Harry said as the pair got to their feet and headed towards the door so they could head down to breakfast.

Over breakfast, Hermione contemplated what she was going to say to Malfoy, and more importantly how she was going to get him alone to speak to him. She knew it wasn't wise to mention the previous evening in front of his friends, even though a couple of them had witnessed the incident, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to catch him on his own.

Luckily for Hermione, she didn't have to worry about how to get Draco away from his friends. When the Slytherins turned up for breakfast their blond leader was nowhere to be seen, and when Harry and Hermione deliberately left the Great Hall behind them, they heard the group discussing the fact Draco was in the library and had warned them all to leave him alone.

"Is this really a good idea?" Harry asked Hermione as the pair stopped outside of the library. "Should you really be approaching Malfoy if he won't even talk to his friends?"

"Now is the perfect time," Hermione insisted. "It's not like I want to apologise in front of all his friends. Getting him alone is the best option."

"Do you want me to hang around?" Harry questioned. "I could lurk in the shadows in case you need me."

Hermione smiled at Harry as she gently refused his offer. "I'll be fine. Besides, I can handle Malfoy. The worst he'll do is throw some insults around, and it's not as if he hasn't used the worst one before now."

"Even so, I don't like leaving you at his mercy," Harry said with a sigh.

"We're in the library, Harry," Hermione laughed. "It's not like we're all alone somewhere deserted. I'm telling you, this will take two minutes. I'll apologise, he'll hurl an insult or two and we'll go our separate ways. You go and visit Ron, and if I'm right, I'll join you within ten minutes."

Harry looked sceptical, but he agreed to let Hermione handle Draco alone. Hermione waited until her best friend had started to head off to the hospital wing, before she pushed open the library doors and entered her favourite place in Hogwarts. Madam Pince was sitting at the front desk and she gave Hermione a friendly smile as the Gryffindor headed deeper into the library in search of the blond Slytherin.

Hermione found Draco sitting at the back of the library. He was settled in one of the beanbag chairs in the very back corner, and although he had a book in his hands, Hermione didn't think he was reading. He looked to be in a world of his own, and in the couple of minutes it took for Hermione to build up the nerve to approach him, he didn't once turn the page or even move his eyes along the lines.

When Hermione stepped out from behind the shelves, Draco didn't immediately look up. It wasn't until she stood right in front of him and her shadow fell over his book that he moved. When he looked up, he was already frowning, but when he spotted who was standing in front of him, his face twisted into a mask of pure hatred as he elegantly rose to his feet.

"What do you want Granger?" He spat as he slammed his book closed and shoved it onto a nearby shelf without even bothering to see if that was where it belonged.

"I want to apologise," Hermione said, refusing to flinch at the bitter tone the blond was taking with her.

"What for? Existing?" Draco sneered.

"No, for hitting you yesterday," Hermione replied. "It was totally uncalled for, and I'm sorry."

"And you expect me to accept your apology when you called me a cockroach, and then hit me?" Draco questioned with a snort. "I don't think so."

"I can't force you to accept the apology, but it doesn't change the fact I'm making it," Hermione said calmly. Inside she was bubbling with fury, there was just something about Draco that made her blood boil whenever she was near him.

"Fine, you've said your piece now you can leave," Draco snapped, waving his hand dismissively.

"You're an arsehole, do you know that?" Hermione retorted, unable to help herself. "You've been nothing but foul to me since we met, and yet I've still sought you out to apologise. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered."

"Nobody forced you to come and find me, Granger," Draco said as he took a step closer to Hermione. On principal, Hermione refused to move back and soon the pair were standing so close they were almost touching.

"I was doing the right thing, Malfoy. Something you know nothing about."

Draco laughed once as he shook his head. "You know nothing about me, Granger."

"Really?" Hermione replied with an amused smirk. "I know you're a brat who thinks he's something special. Well you're not, you're just the same as anyone else."

"And you're just an annoying know-it-all," Draco hissed back.

"Git," Hermione shot back. She was incredibly aware of just how close Draco was to her and more disturbingly, she was becoming aware of just how attractive he was up close.

When Draco's grey eyes flashed with anger, Hermione braced herself for the next insult. She was betting any money he would turn to the tried and trusted 'mudblood'. However, his next move came completely out of the blue. Instead of hurling an insult her way, he closed the tiny gap between them and pressed his lips against hers.

Hermione was so stunned, she stood there frozen as Draco's soft lips pressed against hers. It was only when her lips began to move with the blond's, that her eyes slid shut. For a few seconds, Hermione's brain was clouded by the sensation of Draco's lips on hers, but slowly it began to clear and panic set in when she realised she was kissing her arch enemy. She was kissing the boy who thought she was less than him, just because her parents happened to be muggles. And what was worse, was that she was liking the kiss.

Just as panic began to set in for Hermione, Draco abruptly ended their kiss, and when she opened her eyes, Hermione found herself looking into Draco's stunned face. Before she could say anything, Draco's normal mask of indifference slipped back into place and he took a few steps away from her. Giving her one final look, which she couldn't read, he turned and strode quickly out of the library.

Hermione's fingers moved up and pressed against her lips as she watched the blond disappear out of sight. Maybe Draco was right, she didn't know him after all. Because the Draco Malfoy she thought she knew would never have kissed her. Maybe there was more to the blond Slytherin than met the eye. Whatever the case was, she was confused. All she'd wanted to do was apologise, now all she could think about was that kiss and why it had happened. Maybe one day she would get an answer, but for now it would remain a mystery as to why Draco had kissed her.


	2. The Tie

**A/N - This collection piece is set in a universe without Voldemort. It takes place in sixth year, Snape is still Potions Professor, and all students are still taking Potions. As with all of these pieces, they're likely to turn up in a full length story at some time, but for now I have no further plans for this piece.**

* * *

 **The Tie.**

"Granger, you're a bad influence," Draco Malfoy muttered as the petite brunette witch nibbled at his neck, her feminine curves pushed provocatively against his body.

"Who knew the big bad Slytherins was corruptible," Hermione giggled in response, her hands travelling down Draco's back and squeezing his backside through his trousers.

Draco let out a low growl as he pushed Hermione back against the hard, cold wall of the Potions classroom and roughly connected their lips. Hermione purred in contentment as she broke Draco's restraint. Plunging her hands into his soft, silken hair, she tugged on it slightly as she rubbed herself against him.

"Tease," Draco spat, tearing his lips away from Hermione's and looking down at her with lust filled eyes.

"And don't you love it?" Hermione purred, challenging Draco to argue as she slowly began to unbutton her white school blouse.

Their relationship was built on challenging each other, and that was what made it so intense and enjoyable. They pushed each other to their limits, but at the same time they loved each other deeply. They may have just been in sixth year, but they both knew their romance was the real deal. They were meant to be together, and they both knew it.

"If we're caught, I'm going to be in so much trouble," Draco said, his eyes glued to Hermione's barely there blue lacy bra that she was exposing.

Draco was on a final warning from Dumbledore, and one more detention would end his chances of becoming Head Boy the following year. Draco wanted to be Head Boy, not only so he could share dorms with Hermione, who would inevitably be Head Girl, but to make his father proud. He knew Lucius would be thrilled if he became Head Boy, and he also knew his father was expecting him to get the position. If he didn't, he would hate to have to explain to his father that he lost his chance of Head Boy because he'd had too many detentions over the course of the year.

"And why would we be caught?" Hermione asked. She knew about the warning Draco was on, but considering they were in Snape's classroom she doubted her boyfriend would end up in trouble.

"Because you're very loud," Draco said with a slightly smug smirk. He loved the fact he could make the normally controlled Hermione lose her head when they were intimate.

"I can be quiet," Hermione promised, pulling Draco back down into a heated kiss as she began to tug at his tie.

Within minutes, Draco's tie and shirt had been discarded and Hermione's small hands were running over his quidditch toned torso. At the same time, Draco's hands weren't exactly idle as he'd popped open Hermione's front opening bra and was busy caressing her breasts. He'd also managed to divest her of her skimpy knickers, which had been discarded on the floor alongside his tie.

"You know, I think quidditch is good for something after all," Hermione mused as she ran her nails down Draco's toned stomach. "You're pretty fit."

Draco stilled at Hermione's mention of quidditch and he gave his girlfriend a guilty smile. "Shit, I've got to go Hermione."

"What?" Hermione gave Draco an unimpressed glare, despite the fact she was breathing heavily and her blouse was open revelling her uncovered breasts.

"I totally forgot, but I arranged a quidditch practice for this lunchtime," Draco said apologetically as he bent down and grabbed his shirt.

"You're putting quidditch over me?" Hermione questioned. "I'm half naked in Snape's classroom, willing to let you do anything, and you're going to leave me high and dry?"

Draco let out a frustrated groan as he shrugged on his shirt. "Don't tempt me, Hermione. I want nothing more than to stay here with you, but I've arranged the practice and as captain I can't skip it. How can I expect the team to work for me, if I let them down?"

"Fine, go and play your quidditch," Hermione said with a sigh as she popped her bra closed and began to button up her blouse.

"You're the best." Draco dropped a kiss to Hermione's cheek as he hastily finished buttoning up his shirt and grabbed his bag. "I'll make it up to you tonight, I promise."

Not waiting for a reply, Draco darted out of the classroom, not realising his green and silver striped tie was still sitting on the floor of the Potions classroom next to Hermione's knickers. Hermione also failed to notice the garments as she exited the classroom. Of course she knew her knickers were missing, but she assumed Draco had pocketed them as he had a habit of doing such a thing when they were together.

After leaving the classroom, Draco sprinted out of the castle and down towards the changing rooms that were located to the side of the quidditch pitch. As he entered the changing rooms he was already pulling his un-tucked shirt over his head.

"Sorry I'm late," He said to his gathered team. "Why don't you head outside and warm up, I'll be there in a bit."

While Draco began changing into his quidditch gear most of the team grabbed their brooms and filed out onto the pitch. However Draco's best friend and the Slytherin keeper, Blaise Zabini, stayed behind to wait for the blond.

"Are you sure you're up for practice?" Blaise asked. "You look knackered already. Did Hermione wear you out?"

Blaise was the only person who knew of Draco's relationship with the Gryffindor witch. Draco's parents didn't know of the relationship just yet as Draco wanted to talk to them in person, which he planned to do over the summer. Hermione's friends also didn't know of the relationship as they hated Slytherins, especially Draco. They were planning on telling the Gryffindors once Draco had spoken to his parents and made sure they weren't going to cause trouble.

"I wish," Draco chuckled. "All I got was a quick grope. Like an idiot I double booked, I should have arranged to meet Hermione later."

"I'm sure you can do that as well," Blaise suggested.

"I'm planning to," Draco replied with a grin as he grabbed his broom. "I left her half naked in Snape's classroom, I have some making up to do."

"You've got better self-control than me," Blaise remarked. "I couldn't have left a beautiful girl half naked in Snape's classroom."

"You couldn't leave a beautiful girl half naked anywhere," Draco retorted. "Come to think of it, you couldn't leave any sort of half naked girl alone. As soon as you see a bit of flesh you're there, ready for action."

"It's a talent," Blaise grinned as the boys headed onto the Quidditch pitch where the rest of the team were already in the air. "I'm just irresistible and girls can't keep their clothes on around me."

Draco rolled his eyes at his friend as they mounted their brooms. "Well for now, I want your talent guarding the goals. Naked witches can wait."

Laughing Blaise went off to his position and Draco began a rigorous training session. All lunch time the team worked hard and Draco only ended the session when they ran out of time. Heading back to the changing rooms the team quickly showered and pulled their uniforms back on.

Hurrying into the castle the five sixth years rushed down to the dungeons, where they had potions, while the other two team members went to their respective lessons. Arriving in the dungeons the Slytherins were relieved to find the rest of the class waiting in the hallway outside the classroom.

"Thank Merlin, we're not late," Theo Nott gasped.

"Why is everyone standing around outside?" Gregory Goyle asked as he and Vincent Crabbe brought up the rear of the group.

"Snape won't let us in," Daphne Greengrass said, hearing the boy's conversation.

"Why not?" Blaise questioned.

"Don't know," Pansy Parkinson replied with a shrug.

Draco shared a puzzled look with Blaise, but before he had a chance to pull his friend off to one side and talk with him, Snape appeared in the doorway.

"Get inside, now," He barked.

Quietly the class entered the classroom and took their seats. Draco noticed Hermione taking her seat next to her best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Hermione didn't seem concerned, so Draco wasn't worried that Snape had caught her in the classroom after he'd had to leave in such a hurry.

"Where are your ties?" Snape questioned, glaring at the five Slytherin boys who weren't fully dressed.

"We've just came from Quidditch practice Sir," Theo explained. "We didn't have time to get dressed properly."

"Well I suggest you do it now," Snape retorted. "Get those ties on."

When Draco reached into his pocket for his tie, he froze as he hand found nothing. Replaying the last few hours in his head he realised he hadn't been wearing the tie when he arrived at practice. That could only mean he'd left his tie in the classroom and judging by the way Snape was scrutinising the Slytherins he was guessing his head of house had found his tie.

"Give me your tie," He whispered to Blaise, pulling the green and silver material out of his friend hands.

Before Blaise had a chance to argue Draco had the tie in his hands and was pulling it on. Blaise looked at Draco in confusion, but all he got in response was a smirk from his best friend.

"Mr Zabini, where is your tie?" Snape demanded, stalking over to where Blaise was sitting with Draco.

"I must have left it somewhere," Blaise replied with a sigh, knowing exactly what Draco was playing at. Now he was going to get in trouble for not wearing the proper uniform instead of Draco. Luckily he was a good friend and didn't mind taking the blame if it helped Draco get the position of Head Boy he so desired. "Maybe the Quidditch changing rooms," He offered when Snape continued to glare questioningly at him.

"Or maybe somewhere else," Snape said, pulling a Slytherin tie from his robes and placing it on the desk in front of Blaise. "Is this your tie?"

Blaise paused, unsure of what to say before nodding. "I guess so. I mean all ties look alike, so it could be mine."

"Put it on," Snape snapped, before pulling a pair of lacy knickers from his robes and holding them up in front of Blaise. "And what about these. Are these yours?"

"They're not really my style, Sir," Blaise replied cheekily.

"Perhaps you can give them back to the witch that left them in here," Snape said, his eyes drifting around the class looking for a guilty looking girl, but finding none. He found a few girls looking envious, but none looked as though Snape was flashing their knickers around the room.

"Will do," Blaise muttered, shoving the material into his pocket nearest Draco.

Snape gave Blaise one final glare, before stalking back to the front of the classroom. "And Mr Zabini, you're in detention for the rest of the year. I don't appreciate my classroom being used in such an inappropriate manner, next time take your sexual urges somewhere else. And that goes for everyone else as well, a classroom is a place for learning, not a rendezvous spot for sexual exploits."

Blaise's mouth dropped open at the punishment he'd just received, and he gave Draco an unimpressed glare as the Potions Professor turned and began to scribble instructions on the board.

"Sorry," Draco whispered as he leant over and plucked Hermione's knickers from Blaise's pocket as the class got under way. "But thanks for covering. This would have blown my chances of becoming Head Boy."

"The things I do for you," Blaise muttered, shaking his head. "I must be the best friend in the history of friendship."

"No need to go overboard, Blaise," Draco chuckled. "But I do appreciate it. You're the best friend I could ask for."

"Try not to get me into any more trouble this year," Blaise said. "I don't mind covering for you, but it's a bit harsh to be punished when I'm not even reaping the rewards of breaking the rules. I didn't even get to keep the evidence."

"I'm not letting you keep my girlfriend's knickers," Draco hissed. "That's my job."

"Kinky," Blaise sniggered.

Draco rolled his eyes at Blaise, but let his friend continue with the teasing for the rest of the lesson. Normally he would have told Blaise to be quiet, but his friend had covered for him when he didn't have to and Draco appreciated it. It was good to know he had a solid friend in Blaise. He really was one in a million and Draco didn't know what he would do without him in his corner. Luckily he didn't have find out, as Blaise would always be there to watch his back and cover for him when necessary.


	3. Amortentia

**A/N - This takes place in sixth year, and everything is the same as canon apart from the fact Draco hasn't been forced to take the mark and serve Voldemort.**

* * *

 **Amortentia.**

Draco Malfoy strode down the corridor of the Hogwarts Express. As he went, other students jumped out of his way, not wanting to incur the blond Slytherin's wrath. The Hogwarts Express was barrelling its way back to Hogwarts after the Christmas break, and over the course of the first term back at school, Draco's fearsome reputation had only grown. Even since first year, people had been wary of Draco, but now in sixth year he had younger students terrified of him. Even some of the older students were more cautious of him this year, and that was all down to the fact he'd arrived back at Hogwarts, meaner and snappier than ever.

The reason Draco's mood was fiercer than ever was to hide the fact that deep down he was terrified. Towards the end of the previous school year, Draco's father, Lucius, had been arrested and over the summer he'd been sentenced to several years in Azkaban. Draco knew people were talking about his father's imprisonment, but he refused to let them see just how much it was affecting him. As well as missing his father, Draco was terrified that The Dark Lord was going to turn on him and his mother, to punish Lucius for getting into trouble. So far it hadn't happened, but Draco had a bad feeling about things and he felt as though it was only a matter of time before he was sucked into a world he'd decided that he didn't really want to be a part of anymore. Once upon a time, his father's world of dark magic and dodgy dealing was appealing to Draco, but not anymore. He'd grown up, and realised that he liked the wizarding world just the way it was. He had plenty of power and influence just by being himself, he didn't need to wield dark magic to gain respect.

As he continued to stride along the corridor, Draco wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. As such he failed to notice one of the compartment doors just up ahead slide open. He also failed to register the girl emerging into the corridor, until he walked directly into her, sending her tumbling to the ground.

As soon as Draco collided with the other student, a smell of fresh wildflowers assaulted his nostrils. When the subtle hint of coconut then hit him, Draco knew who he'd knocked over before he even glanced down at the bushy haired brunette witch on the floor. The smell of wildflowers and coconut was the smell he'd come to associate with Hermione Granger over the years. It was the smell he encountered when he sat at his favourite table in the library, which just so happened to be the table directly next to the one Hermione sat at. It was also the scent she gave off every time she passed him by in lessons, or in the corridors. It was a scent that was uniquely Hermione Granger, and much to Draco's annoyance, it had become his favourite smell over the years.

"Watch where you're going, Granger," Draco snapped, controlling the urge to reach out and help her off the ground. Even though it was the gentlemanly thing to do, and it was what he wanted to do, he knew it would ruin his hard earned reputation to be seen helping a muggleborn.

"Why don't you?" Hermione snapped back as she hauled herself to her feet. "You ran into me."

Unbeknown to Draco, Hermione had been sitting in the floor, dreading looking up and facing the blond Slytherin. The second she'd crashed into his solid form, she'd known who had knocked her flying without even seeing him. Aside from his tall, solid frame, Hermione had been hit by a couple of distinctive scents when she bumped into him. One was spearmint, mixed with green apple, which came from his breath, and the other was a deep musky scent that Hermione figured was either his aftershave, or the body wash he used. Either way, the smells had hit her and she'd know it was Draco who had knocked her over.

"I don't have time for this, Granger," Draco grumbled as his grey eyes swept around the corridor to make sure no-one was within hearing distance. Satisfied no-one was near enough to hear him, he subtly leant into Hermione. "Sorry," He whispered, before straightening himself and moving past her to contain on his journey.

Hermione watched Draco go in amazement, before she pulled herself together and carried on heading to the bathroom, which was where she'd been going. By the time she returned to her friends, she'd forgotten all about the incident with Draco, and as he returned to his friends, it left his mind also. In fact neither of them thought about their chance meeting on the train until the first Potions lesson of the new term a few days later.

 **000**

Draco walked into Potions alongside his friends, not at all looking forward to the lesson. Up until sixth year, Potions had been Draco's favourite lesson, and it had been taught by Draco's favourite Professor, his godfather, Severus Snape. However, Severus now taught Defence and Professor Slughorn had been brought in to teach Potions. Draco didn't like Slughorn for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he treated Draco with disdain because of Lucius's incarceration, and secondly because he'd allowed both Potter and Weasley to take his class, whereas if Severus was still teaching neither Gryffindor would have had the marks to make it into Potions.

"Now class, gather around," Slughorn called from the front of the room once everyone was present. "A new term, means a new batch of potions to learn about. Starting with this one," He announced as he moved to stand behind one of the two cauldrons that were sitting on the front desk. "Can anyone tell me what it is?"

Immediately Hermione's hand shot into the air, and Draco rolled his eyes at the Gryffindor's enthusiasm. Despite being a muggleborn, Draco had begrudging respect for Hermione. She'd been thrust into a world she didn't know existed before she was eleven, and instead of drowning in the new environment, she had flourished. She'd become a very accomplished witch, and if Draco was being truly honest with himself, it annoyed him slightly that she could better him in every lesson and he'd grown up surrounded by magic.

"It's Felix Felicis," Hermione replied confidently as the gold potion simmered nicely in the cauldron.

"And it's use?" Slughorn asked as he bestowed Hermione with a proud smile.

"It's a luck potion," Hermione answered. "If used in small doses, it can give the drinker luck for several hours."

"Very good, Miss Granger," Slughorn said with a nod. "Ten points for Gryffindor. Now onto the next potion. Can anyone tell me what this one is?"

Draco leant over to get a peek at the second cauldron. The second cauldron was filled with a liquid that had a mother-of-pearl sheen and steam was coming off it in fancy spirals. However, Draco was more taken aback by the strong scent of wildflowers and coconut that hit him when he got closer to the cauldron. Thinking Hermione was standing next to him, he looked up and found she was at the other side of the table, meaning he shouldn't be able to smell her.

"Anyone?" Slughorn prodded when the entire class stayed quiet. "Miss Granger?"

Hermione hastily looked up from where she'd been staring into the cauldron. She'd recognised the potion immediately from her text book, but she'd been taken aback by the smell that was emitting from the cauldron. All she could smell was spearmint, green apple and the musky scent of Draco's aftershave.

"Miss Granger?" Slughorn repeated. "Don't worry if you don't know the answer," he added, causing a few of the Slytherins to chuckle not to subtly at the idea that Hermione wouldn't know an answer.

"I know what it is," Hermione replied in a quiet voice. "It's Amortentia. The strongest love potion in the world."

"Anything else significant about this potion?" Slughorn pressed.

"It smells different to every single person," Hermione answered. "Each individual smells what attracts them."

"Quite right," Slughorn said with a wide beaming smile, not noticing that Hermione was still staring at the potion. "Another ten points for Gryffindor."

As Slughorn began his lecture about both Felix Felicis and Amortentia, Draco stared down at the second cauldron. Of course he could see it was Amortentia now, but he was still stunned by what he could smell from the potion. According to the potion, the smells that most attracted him, were the smells he associated with Hermione Granger. But that had to mean, he was attracted to Hermione, and he wasn't. At least he didn't think he was.

With the potion confusing him, Draco slowly raised his head and casually turned his attention to where Hermione was standing in between her two best friends. However, what he didn't expect was for her large, brown eyes to be fixated on him. When their eyes met, Draco felt a jolt, but before he could think about it further, Hermione turned away from him, a subtle pink blush staining her cheeks.

Finally Slughorn finished talking and sent the class back to their seats to get on with the days' work. As he moved to go back to his seat, Draco passed directly by Hermione and when he did he froze slightly as the smell of wildflowers and coconut hit him. Hermione also froze as Draco's passed her, and they both returned to their seats feeling slightly shaken by the first part of the day's lesson.

Who knew that a normal potions lesson would lead to them discovering that they were attracted to one another? Not that either of them admitted their attraction for a long time. It was months after their first whiff of Amortentia that Draco and Hermione finally admitted that they liked each other. But admit it they did, and once they'd been together for a while they looked back on Slughorn's potions lesson as the basis of their relationship. After all, would they ever have admitted their feelings if a potion hadn't alerted them to their attraction?


	4. What If

**A/N - This piece is set in an alternative universe that I have plans to fully explore in a long story- starting from first year and covering everything that is mentioned in this piece.**

* * *

 **What If?**

Hermione Granger slowly walked through the corridors of Hogwarts after leaving the Head Dorms. She was heading outside to spend one last afternoon down by the Black Lake with her best friend and boyfriend, but she couldn't help but feel slightly sentimental. Tomorrow morning The Hogwarts Express would be leaving school for the end of term, and Hermione would be taking her final journey on the red engine. Come tomorrow she was leaving Hogwarts behind, after seven magical years at the wizarding school.

Hermione couldn't honestly say she'd enjoyed every single moment of her time at Hogwarts, but the majority of the time had been great. Her first couple of months at the school, before she made any real friends, were probably the toughest, but there had been another couple of hard time in other years. There was the time she was petrified in second year, after a student had found an old enchanted diary belonging to the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, which opened the Chamber of Secrets and unleashed the Basilisk within. Then there was the time in fourth year her best friend, Harry Potter, was entered into the Triwizard Tournament despite being underage. And of course there was all the worry of having Voldemort back and threatening the wizarding world. Luckily, everything had worked out for the best with Voldemort, and the last couple of years had been nothing but great for Hermione. She'd even found love with her other best friend, Draco Malfoy.

Thinking of Draco, brought a smile at Hermione's face as she picked up her pace and finally exited the castle via the front doors. Since it was the last afternoon at school, it was sunny and exams were over, practically the entire student population were outside basking in the summer sun. Making her way through the crowds, Hermione headed towards the Black Lake, where she easily spotted Harry and Draco lounging on the grass, laughing at something.

"Here's our favourite lioness," Draco said, grinning at Hermione as she settled down beside him.

Hermione rolled her eyes affectionately at Draco's nickname for her. The nickname had come about way back when they first became friends in first year, and was a reference to the fact she was a Gryffindor, whereas Harry and Draco were Slytherins. Normally it was unheard of for Gryffindors and Slytherins to be friends, but it hadn't stopped the trio forming an inseparable bond when the pair had saved Hermione from a mountain troll in first year, after Harry had heard a few of the Gryffindors laughing over how she'd locked herself in the bathroom following someone making fun of her, and he dragged Draco along to make sure was safe with the troll roaming about. Although that wasn't the only boundary their friendship broke, as before Hermione and Draco became friends, a Malfoy wouldn't have dreamt of associating with a muggleborn. Luckily, Harry had been there to help the pair bond and he'd played a big part in helping Draco abandon his prejudice and really get to know Hermione.

"And what are you two snakes, up to?" Hermione questioned.

"Just discussing how great it will be to finally leave school," Harry replied.

"Will you not miss this place?" Hermione asked with a frown. Unlike Draco, who had a perfectly happy home life, Harry lived with his Aunt and Uncle and Hermione knew that Hogwarts was the first time he'd ever felt as though he'd belonged anywhere.

"Of course I will, but I'm excited to be getting out in the real world," Harry answered. "And don't tell me you're not excited. You applied for healer training as soon as you could."

"I guess I am slightly excited to get out there," Hermione admitted. "But Healer training isn't a given. I need to get the right exam results."

"We all know that's not in any doubt," Draco snorted. "You'll have walked the exams."

"I hope so," Hermione said, nervously biting her lower lip. "A couple of the exams were tougher than I expected."

"You'll be fine," Harry insisted. "You'll have done better than both of us. Not that either of us really need exam results to land our dream jobs."

While Hermione had set her heart on becoming a healer, both Draco and Harry had decided they wanted to become professional quidditch players. Happily, they were both outstanding players and had both been offered several trials once school ended, so their dreams weren't exactly unachievable. In fact they were even hoping to get signed on the same team as they'd played on the Slytherin team together as chasers since second year, and they worked well together. In Slytherin matches the third chaser had often been surplus to requirements as Draco and Harry dominated the game.

"Stop worrying about exams," Draco said, taking hold of Hermione's hand and gently tugging her towards him. "I can think of more pleasurable ways to spend the afternoon."

Hermione smiled at Draco as she leant forward and pressed her lips against his. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Draco pulled Hermione closer as their lips moved together. With a contented sigh, the pair finally parted and Hermione arranged herself so she was sitting beside Draco, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Finally," Harry declared as the pair settled down and stopped kissing. "I wish you would remember not to do that in public. I'm always worried you'll forget people are around and start stripping each other, or something."

"We do have some control," Draco drawled, rolling his eyes at Harry.

"Really, I haven't noticed any," Harry shot back.

As the boys bickered, Hermione's attention turned to the people around them. All over the grassy bank, groups of students were sitting enjoying the last afternoon at school. Not far away, sat a group of Gryffindors in their year, and Hermione wondered if things had been different would she be part of their group. Of course she knew the Gryffindors in her year, as well as some younger ones, but she wasn't particularly friendly with any of them. The fact her best friends were Slytherins was a sore point with most of her fellow Gryffindors, meaning she'd never truly bonded with the people she shared a house with.

"Hermione!" Harry called, waving his hand in front of Hermione's face.

"Sorry," Hermione said, turning back to find both Harry and Draco looking at her strangely.

"Where were you?" Draco asked. "You looked as though you were in another world."

"I was," Hermione replied. "I was just wondering if things would have been different if Harry hadn't accepted your offer of friendship on the first day of school."

"Why wouldn't I have accepted it?" Harry asked with a frown, as he remembered the incident.

The pair had actually met a few days before school in Diagon Alley, although they hadn't been properly introduced, then they'd spent the train ride up to Hogwarts with different people. It wasn't until they were waiting to be sorted, that Draco had stepped forward and offered Harry the hand of friendship. Not that he'd done it very elegantly, and in the process of trying to befriend Harry, he'd insulted Ron Weasley, the young wizard Harry had spent the train journey with. Despite Draco's heavy handed way to trying to make friends, Harry had respected his bravery in approaching him. There he was an eleven year old boy, standing in front of a group of his peers that he hadn't yet met, putting himself out there even though he could end up rejected. So Harry had shaken his hand, and that had been that. Once they were both sorted into Slytherin, they bonded and a lasting friendship was born.

"Maybe because I was a bit of a git," Draco suggested with a laugh. "I mean, come on. I didn't have to insult Weasley while trying to make friends with you."

"True," Harry agreed. "But what sort of git would I have been, if I'd refused to shake your hand. We were both starting a new school, and trying to make friends. I wasn't going to just ignore you."

"But you easily could have," Hermione pointed out. "You could have been so attached to Ron because of your train ride together, that you could have told Draco where to shove his offer of friendship."

"Maybe," Harry said with a slightly shrug. To be honest, the reason he wasn't as keen on Ron following the train ride was his attitude towards Hermione, who had briefly stopped by while trying to help Neville Longbottom find his missing rat. Ron hadn't exactly been welcoming to Hermione, and it had left Harry wondering if he'd only been so friendly to him because he was Harry Potter – The Boy Who Lived. "But we still would have been friends once we were sorted," He continued, deciding not to mention his initial thoughts on Ron. "In case you missed it, Ron started blanking me once I was sorted into Slytherin."

"Yes, but what if you hadn't been sorted into Slytherin?" Hermione questioned. "Let's face it, before you were even sorted, plenty of people were telling you that Slytherins were bad people. You could have taken that advice to heart and begged the hat not to sort you into Slytherin."

"Can you even do that?" Draco asked with a frown. He knew some people had taken a while to be sorted, but the hat hadn't even been fully placed on his head before he was sorted into Slytherin.

"Yes, Parvati Patil asked the hat not to put her in Ravenclaw with Padma," Hermione answered. "She wanted the chance to make her own friends, away from her twin sister. The same could have happened to Harry, he could have chosen to argue with the hat's choice."

"He wouldn't have done that, right Harry?" Draco asked, shooting his friend a concerned look.

"Now, I would say no," Harry replied thoughtfully. "But I think Hermione does have a point. After I met you in Diagon Alley, I told Hagrid about our conversation and he started ranting about how all dark wizards and witches come from Slytherin."

"Which is absurd by the way," Draco interrupted.

"Of course it is," Harry agreed. "But that's what Hagrid told me. Then I happened to sit with Weasley on the train, and he said pretty much the same thing. Maybe if I'd liked him more, I would have rejected your offer of friendship when you insulted him. And maybe if I didn't have a mind of my own, I would have listened to what he and Hagrid had said, and I would have asked the hat not to place me in Slytherin."

"Luckily, you're not so easily manipulated," Draco replied with a relieved sigh. "Because you had a mind of your own, you were sorted into Slytherin and we became friends."

"Luckily for me," Hermione said, smiling at her boyfriend. "But things could have been so different. Harry could have ended up in Gryffindor, since both his parents were Gryffindors, and he could have been best friends with Ron."

"As if," Harry snorted. "He would have spent these last seven years worshipping me, rather than treating me like an equal. We never could have been really good friends."

"You never know," Hermione replied with a shrug. "You might have hit it off."

"And what about you?" Draco asked with an arched eyebrow. "Would you have fallen for Weasley, instead of me?"

"Maybe," Hermione answered, with a slight grimace at the thought of kissing Ron Weasley. "Maybe if he was Harry's best friend, romance would have blossomed between us."

"We never would have been best friends," Harry instead. "He would have been a side-kick at best. And you never would have fallen for him, he's just not right for you. You need some smart, who can challenge you, and that's not Weasley."

"And just think if you were friends with Weasley, you might have ended up with his sister," Draco laughed.

Ginny Weasley was a year younger than them, and it was clear when she started school that she had a massive crush on Harry, despite only meeting him briefly before he started school in first year. Since they were in different houses, her crush had never amounted to anything, but she still had a habit of staring longingly at Harry.

"Just what I want, an obsessed fan girl as a girlfriend," Harry chuckled. "Honestly Hermione, none of this could have happened. I agree if things had been different, I might not have been in Slytherin and I might not have been friends with Draco. But I don't see us being friends with Weasleys."

"And if all that had happened, we might not even be here today," Draco pointed out. "Harry might have died in that Triwizard Tournament without my help."

"How did you help?" Harry snorted.

"I stood by you, when everyone else was accusing you of putting your name forward," Draco argued. "Hermione and I were the only people who truly believed someone was out to get you. I bet Weasley wouldn't have stood by you. Plus, I was the one who suggested you try and outfly the dragon, once Snape had tipped us off about the first task. And that's another thing, who would have helped you if you hadn't been in Slytherin? Would McGonagall have looked out for you the way Snape did?"

"He has a point," Hermione said. During his trying time in fourth year, Harry had received invaluable support from his head of house, Professor Severus Snape.

"True, I did have some awesome support," Harry conceded. "And you're right, I can't see Weasley standing by me in those circumstances."

"And then what help would he have been against Voldemort?" Draco asked. "True his family were part of the Order, but they couldn't help the same way my family could."

When Voldemort had come back at the end of fourth year, Draco's parents, Lucius and Narcissa, had immediately gone to Dumbledore and offered them help in bringing down the dark wizard. Thanks to Draco's friendship with Harry and Hermione, they're truly turned to the light, and wanted things to remain the way they were. Due to Lucius's past connections with Voldemort, he was able to give Dumbledore and the Order some valuable information, leading to Dumbledore defeating Voldemort properly a little under a year after his return.

"Let's just be grateful things have turned out this way," Harry said with a smile. "Things are the way they're meant to be, and thankfully Hermione's little 'what if' world isn't real. We're all where we were always meant to be to."

"And where's that?" Hermione asked.

"Together," Harry answered, smiling at his two best friends.

As if he would ever want to live in a world where he was a Gryffindor and best friends with Ron Weasley. He was a Slytherin, and he was best friends with Draco Malfoy, just the way it should be. And then there was Hermione and Draco, two people made for each other. They were also right where they belonged, and Harry was grateful for that. Now more than ever he was glad he'd shaken Draco's hand on that first day of term. After all, it had led to so many wonderful things, and Harry wouldn't want to change any of them. Everything had worked out just as it should have, and for that Harry was very grateful.


	5. Reminiscing

**A/N - This piece is set in 7th year - no war. It's fun and lighthearted so enjoy.**

* * *

 **Reminiscing.**

Sitting in a bed in the hospital wing, Draco Malfoy stared down at his left arm, immobilised in a sling. Draco was actually about to be discharged, after a weekend in the hospital wing, but his happiness had been tempered by Madam Pomfrey telling him that he couldn't play quidditch for the rest of the year. Draco had been hoping to be fit enough to play in the re-arranged final match of the year against Gryffindor, but it looked like those hopes had gone up in smoke.

Draco had actually been playing in the original match against Gryffindor when his accident had occurred. While searching for the snitch, he'd had to move quickly to avoid a hard hit bludger, but his fast manoeuvre had sent him crashing into the Gryffindor seeker, Harry Potter. The pair had both ended up crashing out of the match, and the game had been called off since both seekers had been injured. The only difference was, Harry's injury had been superficial and he'd been out of the hospital wing in less than an hour, while Draco had been stuck in the hospital wing all weekend with concussion and a dislocated shoulder.

"You can leave in a few minutes, Mr Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey announced, jolting Draco from his thoughts. "I'll just get you some pain relief for your shoulder."

"Thanks," Draco muttered as Madam Pomfrey disappeared into her office.

Before Madam Pomfrey could return from her office, the doors to the hospital wing swung open and the Head Girl, Hermione Granger entered the room. Hermione wasn't just the Head Girl, alongside Draco as Head Boy, but she was also his girlfriend. The pair had gotten together at the beginning of the year and their relationship had gone from strength to strength, and with the end of the year approaching they were very much looking towards the future together.

Of course their relationship hadn't been entirely smooth sailing with Hermione's friends protesting their romance. Even now, Hermione's best friends still didn't like Draco and he knew they took every opportunity to try and convince her she was making a big mistake by being with him. Luckily Hermione didn't care about other people's opinions and she refused to let her friends dictate who she should date. She loved Draco, and she wasn't ending their relationship just because her friends didn't like him.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she walked over to Draco and gave him a quick kiss.

"Not bad, I suppose," Draco replied. "But Madam Pomfrey has banned me from quidditch for the rest of the year."

"Indeed I have," Madam Pomfrey said, re-emerging from her office and handing Draco a vial of pain potion. "Unless you want to risk permanently damaging your shoulder?"

"No, I don't want that," Draco said quietly as he pocketed the potion and slid off the bed he was sitting on.

"Well then, no quidditch for a few months," Madam Pomfrey reiterated. "Give it a few months, and your shoulder will be as good as new. Then you can play all the quidditch you want."

Draco nodded and thanked Madam Pomfrey, before he exited the hospital wing with Hermione. Together the pair headed back to the head dorms, which were located on the third floor. When they entered the dorms, Draco was shocked to find his best friends, Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini, sitting on one of the sofas.

"Hey," Blaise grinned as he spotted his best friend entering the room. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," Draco replied.

"If you want to be alone we can go, but we thought we could hang around and cheer you up," Theo offered, not wanting to intrude on Draco and Hermione's private time.

"I wasn't aware I need cheering up," Draco remarked as he eased himself onto the sofa opposite his friends, with Hermione at his side. Despite the pain potions Madam Pomfrey had pumped him with his shoulder still throbbed, and his body just ached in general from the fall he'd endured.

"Well you've been stuck in the hospital wing for days, that's hardly cheerful," Theo pointed out. "And now you're stuck in a sling, and you'll not be able to play in the rearranged match at the weekend."

"The match has been rearranged for next weekend?" Draco questioned in surprise, shocked that the match was scheduled for so soon.

"Yeah," Blaise nodded, although the disgusted look on his face showed how he felt about the hasty reorganisation of the match. "Rumour has it that Potter pushed for an early rematch, knowing you wouldn't be fit enough to play."

"If he wants to be that petty, let him," Draco replied. "Not that it would make a difference anyway. There's no quidditch for me for a few months."

"Why?" Theo asked.

Draco explained what Madam Pomfrey had said about his shoulder, and how another injury when it was still healing could lead to permanent damage. Blaise and Theo were obviously disappointed not to have Draco available for the match, but they agreed that his overall health came first.

"Does anyone want a drink?" Hermione asked, when Draco had finished filling his friends in on his stay in the hospital wing.

Both Theo and Blaise said yes to a drink, but when Hermione went to get up, Draco stopped her. "You stay here with me, Blaise and Theo can get the drinks."

"Hey, we're guests, here," Blaise protested in a joking manner as he and Theo got to their feet.

"Tough, I want Hermione to stay with me, I've missed her," Draco said, smiling at his girlfriend as his friends headed into the small kitchen alcove to get some drinks.

"I've seen you every day," Hermione pointed out with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but we were under the watchful eye of Madam Pomfrey," Draco argued. "I swear that woman has special powers. Every time we kissed, she was there telling us visiting hours were over."

"Maybe she just didn't fancy watching you two getting frisky on her hospital beds," Blaise remarked as he and Theo returned to the common room.

"The same as we don't want to witness it now," Theo added, wincing as the couple shared a lingering kiss. Despite Draco's bad shoulder, he wouldn't put it past the pair of them to still indulge in a bit of fun on the sofa.

"Relax, we're not going to do anything," Draco told his friends as they placed four glasses of pumpkin juice on the table and retook their seats.

"I should hope not, at least not while we're in the room," Theo said with a grin.

Curled up at Draco's side, Hermione watched the three Slytherins banter back and forth. Watching them together it was clear the three had a very strong friendship. There was always one of them poking fun at another one, yet no-one ever took offence. Their friendship certainly showed that Slytherins were a lot more fun that people thought. Hermione knew most people thought Slytherins were cold and serious, but watching Draco and his friends, it was clear they were anything but serious.

As the boys banter turned to reminiscing, Hermione pricked up her ears. She was quite interested to hear what went on down in the dungeons as gossip surrounding the Slytherins was scarce. Stories from the other houses were often floating around school, but very little was known about what went on down in the dungeons.

"Can you remember the time we glued the Gryffindor brooms?" Theo laughed.

"Remember it, I'm still scarred by it," Blaise responded with a laugh of his own. "We really didn't think that one through."

The incident had happened the previous year during a match where Gryffindor were playing Ravenclaw. A slow reacting glue had been spread on the entire teams brooms, and while everything had been fine at first as the match wore on the Gryffindor players struggled to get their hands off the broom. After quarter of an hour the glue was completely set, and none of the Gryffindors could remove their gloved hands from the broom. Unfortunately they couldn't dismount the brooms either and Madam Hooch had made them step out of their trousers in the middle of the pitch. The result was the entire Gryffindor quidditch team standing on the pitch in their underwear, which had been the cause of much teasing for the team in the months following the match.

"That was you three, I had no idea," Hermione gasped as she laughed along at the memory of the incident.

"Oh, there's plenty more stories like that," Draco said with a wicked grin. "We've had some fun in our time."

"Come on then, tell me more," Hermione encouraged.

"In third year, can you remember the morning when all the plates and goblets were stuck to the tables?" Blaise asked with a grin. "That was one of our masterpieces."

"Fred and George got the blame for that," Hermione cried in surprise.

"More like they took the credit," Theo complained. "We were in the Great Hall for hours, then the next day everyone was congratulating the twins on their hilarious prank."

"You should have owned up then," Hermione retorted.

"What, and get detention?" Blaise snorted. "They may have been congratulated by the students, but they still got detention."

"And can you remember the time they got detention for putting polyjuice potion in the morning juice?" Draco questioned with a chuckled. "That was us as well."

"What?" Hermione screeched. "I spent an hour looking like Professor McGonagall."

The incident with the juice had been in fourth year. One morning chaos had reigned in the Great Hall as people randomly began transforming into other people. Even a few of the Professors had been affected, including Professor Dumbledore who'd transformed into Pansy Parkinson. Of course everyone who hadn't been affected by the potion had found the whole thing hilarious. An investigation showed every juice, apart from cranberry, had been spiked with polyjuice potion.

"How did you manage that one?" Hermione asked.

"We nicked the potion from Draco's father, and spent days collecting various hairs," Theo explained. "One night we snuck down into the kitchen and slipped polyjuice potion into every juice but the cranberry. We just then made sure we drank cranberry juice the following morning."

Hermione shook her head, but she couldn't help the smile that graced her lips. "That is so wicked."

"That was nothing," Blaise grinned. "Our best plan was the time we posed as Dumbledore and locked you Gryffindors up in the tower for a day."

Hermione could remember the incident in fifth year, and she could remember the confusion over what had happened. The natural assumption was the Weasley twins had been responsible, but they were in the tower and couldn't have been involved in the plan. Two years later the incident was still a mystery, and no-one knew what had happened.

Hermione's mouth dropped open as they explained how they'd again used polyjuice potion to pull the prank. Blaise had taken the potion to look like Dumbledore, before going to Gryffindor Tower and announcing there was a contagious illness spreading around the school and they were to stay in the tower until further notice. When Blaise left he told the Fat Lady to take the rest of the day off, so when the Professors went to see what was going on with the absent Gryffindors they couldn't get into the tower. It took them nearly all day to locate the Fat Lady, and when they finally got into the tour they were mystified by what had happened.

"I cannot believe you three," Hermione gasped. "You've got a real fascination with polyjuice potion."

"But it's so handy," Blaise retorted cheekily. "You wouldn't believe how much it makes our lives easier."

"How exactly?" Hermione questioned warily.

"It certainly comes in handy when you've double booked a witch," Blaise replied with a grin.

Hermione shook her head as the boys described how they used the potion to pose as each other if one had two dates in one night. They also told Hermione how they used the potion if someone had detention, when they were supposed to be on a date. As they talked it also became clear that they played the same trick at home and had been doing it for years.

Hermione turned to her boyfriend with a frown. "Please say you've never used that trick with me. I've never been on a date with Blaise or Theo, have I?"

"Of course not," Draco replied honestly.

"We should be so lucky," Blaise muttered. "Draco won't let us anywhere near you."

"I should hope not," Hermione said in indignation.

"We have used polyjuice potion so I could go out with you though," Draco told his girlfriend. "That day we met up in the Christmas holidays, we had to use polyjuice potion so I could get away from the manor. At the last minute, Father decided he expected me at dinner, so Blaise filled in for me."

"Blaise had dinner with your parents, posing as you?" Hermione checked. "How did they not realise?"

"Years of practice," Blaise answered with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "We know each other so well, we can all pass for each other easily."

"I'm not sure whether to be impressed or disturbed," Hermione muttered.

"I vote for impressed," Blaise chuckled. "Let's be honest, we've gotten up to all sorts over the last seven years and no-one had any idea."

"You're certainly devious, I'll give you that," Hermione admitted. "But if you ever pull anything like that on me, I'll kill you," She warned her boyfriend. "Keep your polyjuice tricks away from me."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to let these two anywhere near you," Draco reassured his girlfriend. "You're all mine, and Blaise and Theo aren't getting their hands on you."

"That's good to know," Hermione said as she leant up and brushed her lips over Draco's.

"You know what, boys. I'm feeling tired," Draco told his friends, but his eyes never left his girlfriend.

"Let's guess, you need a lie down," Blaise laughed.

"Precisely," Draco nodded, still not tearing his gaze away from Hermione.

"We get the message," Theo said as he and Blaise stood up. "We'll see you later. Bye, guys."

Hermione and Draco were barely aware of Blaise and Theo going, as they made eyes at each other, but they managed to say goodbye to the two Slytherins.

"Bedroom?" Hermione questioned as she stood up.

"Yeah," Draco replied as he got to his feet, being careful not to jolt his shoulder.

Even though they knew they would have to be careful of Draco's shoulder, the pair headed off to Draco's room. They could still spend some time together, and Hermione was interested to hear more about what Draco and his friends had gotten up to before she really knew them. It certainly sounded interesting down in the dungeons, even if they did seem to break a good few rules. Not that Hermione herself could complain too much about breaking rules. After all, she'd broken a few with her friends over the years. The only difference was, the Slytherins seemed to break rules doing much more devious things and Hermione wondered what else they'd gotten up to. Maybe she would find out later, but right now her main priority was Draco, and spending some quality time with her boyfriend following his weekend in the hospital wing.


	6. Exposed

**Exposed.**

Hermione Granger checked the time with a sigh as she lay curled up on the sofa in the head dorms. Dinner had finished well over an hour ago and Hermione had fully expected the Head Boy, Draco Malfoy, who also happened to be her secret boyfriend, back in the dorms ages ago. Hermione wasn't exactly the possessive type and she had no problem with Draco spending time with his friends, but she had expected her boyfriend would want to catch up considering the fact they'd only just returned from Easter break. For almost two weeks the pair had been separated, and the only time they'd seen one another was a brief meeting in Diagon Alley when they'd managed to escape from their friends for half an hour. Yet, here they were back at school with the opportunity to spend the evening together and Draco was nowhere to be seen.

Vowing not to let her boyfriend's absence ruin her good mood, Hermione grabbed her book and settled down to read. Half an hour later she was still engrossed in her book when the door to the head dorms opened and Draco finally put in an appearance.

"Hi gorgeous," Draco called, leaning over the back of the sofa and giving Hermione a peck on the cheek.

"Hello," Hermione replied, not looking up from her book.

"Ah, you're mad at me," Draco said with a sigh as he moved around the sofa. Moving Hermione's feet, he settled on the sofa beside his girlfriend and put her feet back over his lap.

"Why would I be mad?" Hermione asked, looking up from her book. "We're not joined at the hip, Draco. If you want to spend your first night back at school with your friends, that's your choice."

"I should have said, it's Theo's birthday today," Draco said. "Pansy and Daphne had organised a cake for him. I would much rather have been getting reacquainted with you, but I couldn't skip out on Theo's birthday."

"Of course you couldn't," Hermione replied, feeling slightly sheepish for expecting Draco to be with her when it was one of his best friend's birthday. "Sorry for being such a demanding cow."

"You're hardly demanding, Hermione," Draco chuckled. "Normally, I would have been right here to catch up with you."

"We could always catch up now," Hermione said with a smirk as she put her book down on the coffee table.

"Sounds good to me," Draco replied, moving over the sofa so he was hovering over Hermione.

"I've missed you," Hermione confessed as she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and pulled him closer to her.

"I've missed you too," Draco returned.

"How much?" Hermione queried with a sly smile.

Instead of answering, Draco slanted his lips over Hermione's and pressed his body against hers. Hermione could feel Draco's hard erection pressed against her thigh and she moaned lightly in response. She felt Draco smirk at her reaction, and eager to get him to moan, she slipped her hands under his shirt and ran her nails down his firm torso. When she dragged her nails towards his hip, instead of moaning, he hissed slightly as though he was in pain.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?" Hermione asked in concern, although she wasn't sure how she could have hurt her boyfriend. She didn't exactly have the sharpest of nails, and she knew from experience that Draco wasn't exactly bothered if she scratched or even bit him during sex.

"Not really," Draco replied. "I'm still a bit sensitive there, that's all."

"Why are you sensitive?" Hermione questioned, wondering if he'd been hurt over the holidays.

"Take a look," Draco replied with a grin as he sat back to give Hermione better access to his body.

Hermione also sat up as she began to unbutton Draco's shirt. Determined to not get too distracted by Draco's killer body, Hermione quickly removed Draco's shirt, focusing on the hip she'd touched. With Draco's shirt out of the way, she could see the top of what looked to be a tattoo. Reaching for his trousers, she undid them and slid them down his hips to get a better look. Hermione gasped as the tattoo came into view and she found it was her name written in black, cursive writing next to a roaring lioness.

"Do you like it?" Draco asked.

"Are you mad?" Hermione demanded, glaring at her boyfriend. "What if someone sees it?"

"You're the only one who sees me without my trousers," Draco argued.

"What about when you're getting ready for quidditch?" Hermione retorted. "I know you Draco, and you're not shy. You wouldn't think twice of stripping off in front of the rest of the team."

"I'm sure I can conceal it until the end of the year," Draco replied. "Besides, it's not like we check each other out when we're getting changed."

"And what if someone else spots it?" Hermione asked. "It's partly visible before you remove your trousers. All it takes is for your shirt to ride up and someone to spot it. You're going to expose us, Draco."

"Does it matter?" Draco asked with a sigh. "We're coming out at the end of the year anyway."

"I just think it's better to do it on our own terms, rather than being exposed via a tattoo," Hermione replied.

"I promise to keep my body under wraps," Draco vowed. "But you didn't answer me, do you like it?"

"It's lovely," Hermione replied with a small smile. "But you do know you're stuck with it now, don't you? My name will always be in your hip, even if I'm not in your life."

"Are you planning on going anywhere?" Draco asked, pulling Hermione onto his lap.

"No, but we can't predict the future," Hermione replied.

"I can confidently predict that I won't regret this tattoo," Draco responded. "Just like I can predict that we're going to be together for a long time. We're going to last Hermione, and this tattoo is a mark of how confident I am in our relationship."

"Let's hope you're right," Hermione said with a smile. "And let's hope no-one spots your tattoo."

"You worry too much Hermione," Draco laughed. "No-one but you is going to see my tattoo."

Before Hermione had a chance to argue further, Draco re-joined their lips and totally distracted her. In fact by the end of the evening, Hermione had totally forgotten about Draco's new tattoo, and the fact it could expose them if anyone spotted it.

 **[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]**

A couple of weeks into the final term, Hermione focus wasn't worried about Draco's tattoo exposing them, she was more concerned that she would be the one to snap and tell everyone about them. The reason she was worried she might break was due to Draco's two closest female friends, Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass. Hermione had always known that Pansy had a crush on Draco, and she suspected Daphne also had a thing for him, but they'd never been too overt in their attentions. However, since Easter they'd been flirting more than usual with Draco. Hermione was guessing it was because the end of school was approaching and they were worrying that they might not get another chance with Draco, but it was still annoying to see other girls all over her boyfriend. Not that Draco was encouraging them at all, but it was still annoying.

In Potions class, Hermione watched with a frown as Daphne and Pansy had a quiet argument over who would partner Draco. At one point, Hermione thought they were going to come to blows, but then Professor Snape stepped in and settled the debate by partnering Pansy with Draco, and making Daphne partner Lavender Brown.

"Can you believe they would argue over Malfoy?" Ron Weasley tutted to Harry Potter. Ron was partnered with Neville Longbottom at the table next to where Harry was partnered with Hermione.

"Mental," Harry replied with a shake of his head. "Don't you think so, Hermione?"

"Maybe they just wanted a competent partner," Hermione snapped. "I know I would like one."

Leaving her best friend's gaping after her, Hermione stalked off to the cupboard to get the required ingredients for the potion they were making. By the time she returned, Ron had turned back to his own work and Harry was sheepishly lighting the fire beneath the cauldron.

"I'm sorry Harry," Hermione apologised. "I didn't mean to snap."

"It's okay, I know the pressure of exams are stressing you out," Harry replied with a small smile.

Hermione wished it was just the pressure of the exams that had made her snap at Harry, but she didn't argue with her best friend. After all, she could hardly tell him she was annoyed with the way Pansy and Daphne were all over Draco without revealing their relationship. Both she and Draco had talked at length about the best time to come out, and they'd both decided the end of the year was the time for them to make their romance known as by then they would have some plans for the future.

Trying to ignore the fact Draco was working with Pansy, Hermione focused on her own work with Harry. However, half an hour into the lesson the entire class was distracted by Pansy tripping over the leg of her stool and tipping the entire contents of the cauldron she was carrying all over her partner.

"Damn it Pansy," Draco yelled, looking down at his white shirt which was now covered in sticky dark blue potion.

"Sorry," Pansy said in a small voice. "It was an accident."

"I know," Draco admitted with a sigh. "But now I'm covered with potion."

"Stop making a drama, Draco," Snape called, approaching the pair of Slytherins. "Just clean yourself off and get on with making your potion again."

"I can't just use magic to clean myself up, it never works properly," Draco argued. "My shirt needs cleaning properly, and I can't wear a soiled shirt."

"What's your other option, strip off until you can get a clean shirt?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's my only choice," Draco replied with a nod as he began to unbutton his shirt.

All the girls' eyes were on Draco as he slowly stripped off, revealing his pale but tones torso. It wasn't until he pulled the shirt from his trousers and shrugged it off that Hermione spotted his tattoo on almost full display. However, she wasn't the only one to spot his new body art, and Pansy let out a loud squeal as she spotted the top of the tattoo.

"Ooh, you've got a tattoo," Pansy squealed so that everyone in the room could hear. "Does it say something?"

"It's none of your business, Pansy," Draco snapped, pulling up his trousers to try and hide the tattoo.

"That's a lion," Pansy said with a frown, her attention still on Draco's hip. "And there's something written beside it."

"Pansy," Draco warned with a low growl.

"Don't be shy Draco," Blaise Zabini called from further back in the classroom. "Show us your tattoo."

"Sod off Zabini," Draco spat, turning to glare at his friend.

As he turned to glare at Blaise, Draco took his eyes off Pansy, and before he knew what was going on, Pansy pulled at his trousers exposing his tattoo to her eyes. From her position at her desk, Hermione lowered her head, knowing what was coming. Pansy didn't disappoint and her outraged cry echoed around the room.

"Granger!"

Everyone's attention briefly turned to Hermione, before refocusing on Pansy and Draco as Pansy glared at her old friend.

"You've got Granger's name on your hip," Pansy accused. "And a lion."

"I told you it was none of your business," Draco snapped.

"I can see why you wanted to hide it," Pansy sneered. "You must have been drunk to have the mudblood's name tattooed on your hip."

"Don't call her that," Draco snarled. "And I was not drunk, I knew what I was doing."

"You meant to have Granger's name tattooed on your hip?" Pansy sneered. "Why?"

"Because she's my girlfriend," Draco answered as he raised his eyes to where Hermione was sitting. "Sorry Hermione. I didn't mean for this to come out."

"I did warn you," Hermione said with a sigh as she looked up.

"Sorry," Draco repeated, giving Hermione a sheepish smile.

"What the hell?" Ron exploded. "How long have you two been together?"

"Now is not the time for such things," Snape interrupted. "Draco, go and get a fresh shirt, and everyone else can get back to work. You can all discuss private matters after the end of class."

Snape's instructions didn't stop the questions and the gossiping, but it did stop the dramatics of Pansy and Ron. Hermione fended off the questions as best she could as she tried to finish her work, however she knew she would have to face her friends sooner rather than later. She knew Draco's tattoo was going to be trouble, and she had every intention of making her boyfriend pay for the way they'd been exposed. She could think of dozens of ways she could get her revenge on Draco, and she fully intended to do just that. He was going to regret his carelessness and exposing his tattoo to the whole class, Hermione would make sure of it.


	7. Tipsy

**Tipsy.**

A loud crashing noise woke Draco Malfoy from a pretty sound sleep. Groggily reaching out for his wand, he lit it up and checked his watch for the time. He found it was quarter past one in the morning, and in his opinion it sounded as though there was someone downstairs in the common room. He could clearly hear movement from downstairs, and then a girlish giggling floated up the stairs as if to confirm his theory.

"Granger?" Draco muttered to himself with a frown.

It was the middle of the Christmas holidays and he could count how much he'd seen of the Head Girl, Hermione Granger, on one hand. Aside from Christmas Day, when she'd joined everyone else in the Great Hall, she'd spent her holiday locked away studying. In fact Draco had figured she was in her room when he'd returned to the head dorms earlier that evening. But now it appeared that she hadn't been in her room at all.

As he lay in bed, trying to decipher the noises he could hear from downstairs, Draco wondered if he should go and check on Hermione. Since taking on the roles of head students at the beginning of the year, they'd developed a good friendship. In fact if he was honest with himself, Draco liked Hermione as more than a friend, but she'd been strictly off limits because she'd been dating Ron Weasley. Although the pair had broken up just before Christmas, hence why Hermione was at Hogwarts over the holidays. Still, she was still recovering from the break-up and Draco didn't fancy getting involved in some sort of rebound thing as in his experience they never ended well.

Just as Draco decided that he would get up and check on Hermione, he heard unsteady footsteps on the stairs. The giggling was also increasing, and if Draco didn't know any better he would have sworn that Hermione was drunk. However, he just couldn't picture the Gryffindor Princess as the sort that would go out and get stinking drunk. That was until his bedroom door flew open and he was confronted by a tipsy Hermione.

Between the light on his wand and the moonlight that was streaming through the window, Draco had a perfect view of Hermione. Her hair looked wilder than normal, almost as though she'd been running her hands through it, and she looked very unsteady on her feet. She'd removed her shoes and socks somewhere before his room, her skirt was a fair bit shorter than he'd ever seen before, and she was wearing a very thin white vest top, which when he'd seen her this morning had been covered by a floaty purple top. Draco tried not to stare at Hermione's top half, especially as she seemed to have misplaced her bra and her nipples were visible through the thin material.

"Malfoy," Hermione greeted with a grin as she weaved her way over to the bed. "Sexy, sexy, Malfoy."

"It looks like someone is a bit drunk, Granger," Draco remarked with a small smile.

"I'm not drunk, I'm merry," Hermione protested with a wild shake of her head. "Ooh, head rush," she giggled, abruptly stopping her head movements.

"I still say drunk," Draco said, pushing back the covers so he could get out of bed to help Hermione to her room, forgetting he was just wearing a pair of black boxers.

"Very sexy Malfoy," Hermione purred, her eyes trailing over Draco's half naked body.

"Thanks," Draco replied, beaming at Hermione's compliment, even though he knew it was the drink talking.

"Very, very," Hermione repeated, reaching out and running her hands down Draco's firm torso.

"Whoa," Draco cried when her hands carried on and squeezed him through his boxers.

"You're not shy," Hermione laughed, scrambling onto the bed and straddling Draco's waist before he had a chance to react to what she was doing.

"What are you doing, Granger?" Draco asked, unsure of where to put his hands. She'd settled herself right on his lap, and he knew it wouldn't be long before he started to react to having the witch he fancied sprawled all over him.

"Treating myself," Hermione answered, crashing her lips against Draco's.

If Draco hadn't known Hermione was drunk before, he certainly did when she kissed him. He could taste the firewhisky on her lips and tongue, and as great as it felt having Hermione snogging him as though there was no tomorrow, he had to force himself to reign himself in and gently put a stop to the kiss.

"Granger, you're drunk," he said gently.

"Am not," Hermione protested. "I'm free. Free from Ronald and his childishness."

"I'm sure anyone would be thrilled to be free of Weaselbee," Draco agreed, not able to hide his dislike for Hermione's ex-boyfriend. He'd never liked Ron, and although he was now friends with Hermione and even tolerated Harry Potter, he just despised the redhead. "But I don't know if drinking is the answer. What did you do, go down to Hogsmeade and get drunk?"

"I went and celebrated," Hermione corrected, smiling seductively at Draco as her hands began to once again wander down his torso. "Do you want to celebrate with me?"

"It's not a good idea, Granger," Draco muttered through clenched teeth. It was taking every ounce of his self-restraint not to give in and thoroughly ravish Hermione, but she was drunk and he wasn't going to take advantage of her in that state.

"I'll convince you," Hermione replied brightly, grinding her hips against his burgeoning erection. "See, you're up for it."

"That part of me is," Draco conceded. "But I won't do anything tonight, Hermione."

"But I know you want to," Hermione purred, nuzzling against Draco's neck as she rubbed herself against him. "You want me, I know you do."

"I do," Draco confessed, trying and failing not to get aroused by Hermione's actions.

"So take me," Hermione pleaded, her lips searching for his once again.

For a second, Draco gave in to the kiss as he let his own hands trail down Hermione's sides. However, when one of her hands slid into his boxers, he was brought back to reality. Quickly breaking the kiss, he grabbed both of Hermione's hands and moved them away from his body.

"No," he said firmly, trying not to stare at her breasts which were directly in front of him, her arousal barely hidden by her thin top.

"Yes," Hermione insisted. "I want you, Draco. I've always wanted you."

"You were with Weasley a few weeks ago," Draco pointed out.

"But I wanted you," Hermione confessed in a low whisper, and Draco suspected that the drink was helping her admit to something she never would have done when she was sober. "I hated myself for wanting you when I was with Ron. Ron's a good guy, and he deserves better than me."

"That's a debatable opinion," Draco replied. "But is that why you ended things? Because of me?"

"Not really, we just didn't work," Hermione answered. "But now I'm free and I want you."

"And I'm so tempted," Draco confessed. "But I will not take advantage of you when you're drunk."

"I am not drunk," Hermione pouted.

"Yes, Granger, you are," Draco insisted, firmly but gently. "You need to go to bed and have a good night's sleep."

"Fine, I'll sleep here," Hermione announced as she wriggled out of Draco's grasp as collapsed onto the bed bedside him. "And when you see I'm not drunk we'll have all the sex."

Draco shook his head, but before he could respond, Hermione let out a soft sound that Draco realised was a snore. Not having the heart to move Hermione, Draco pulled the covers over the head girl and tried to settle down beside her. Not that it was easy sleeping next to the witch he fancied, and it took Draco quite a while to control his desire for Hermione and finally go to sleep.

* * *

Hermione woke to a pounding headache, which only got worse as she recalled events of the previous evening. She'd headed down to Hogsmeade in an attempt to unwind after days of heavy revision, but she'd misjudged her alcohol tolerance level and ended up slightly worse for wear. However, that was nothing compared to the show she'd made of herself in front of Draco.

Hermione groaned quietly at the memories, burying her head in the pillow as she did so. However, the second the scent of the pillow hit her, Hermione froze. Draco's scent was all over the pillow, meaning she was still in his bed. Slowly peeking open her eyes, Hermione twisted her head far enough to see Draco sleeping peacefully beside her.

"Bloody hell," Hermione muttered, her eyes drinking in the sight of Draco. For months she'd been struggling with her feelings for the blond wizard, and she couldn't believe that she'd embarrassed herself the way she had just when she was single and might just have stood a chance with him.

Deciding it was best to leave before Draco got up, Hermione gingerly sat up in bed. However, she was still hung over and the action produced a loud groan from her. The groan seemed to wake Draco, and before Hermione could get up, the blond was sitting up next to her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Embarrassed," Hermione admitted.

"Don't be," Draco said. "We all do stupid things when we've been drinking."

"I don't think they come stupider than me," Hermione said with a grimace. "I can't believe the way I threw myself at you. Thank you by the way, for turning me down."

"I wasn't going to take advantage of you when you were drunk," Draco said as he pushed back the covers and hopped out of bed. "Wait here, I've got something that might help you."

Hermione tried not to stare as Draco padded off to the bathroom. When he returned he was carrying a vial of a bright blue potion, which he handed to Hermione.

"It'll help with the hangover," he explained.

"Thank you," Hermione said, downing the potion and feeling the effects wash over her. After a couple of minutes she felt completely fine, just embarrassed about her drunken behaviour.

"Better?" Draco checked.

"Much," Hermione confirmed as she got out of bed. Glancing down at herself, she grimaced at how thin her top was, but Draco was good enough to keep his eyes averted from her breasts. "And I'm so sorry for last night."

"You don't have to be sorry," Draco reassured Hermione. "I was really very flattered."

"I'm not sure I would be flattered to have some drunken idiot climb into bed with me," Hermione retorted.

"You happen to be a very attractive drunken idiot," Draco joked. "But seriously, Hermione, don't worry about it."

"Well, thanks again," Hermione said, edging towards the door. "It was good of you not to take advantage."

"As I said, you were drunk," Draco replied. "I wouldn't have taken advantage of you in that state. Mind you, if you'd been sober, it would have been a different story."

"Really?" Hermione asked, surprised by Draco's admission.

"Really," Draco confirmed, walking over to Hermione and standing so close he was almost touching her. "If you hadn't been drunk there was no way I would have turned you down. Just so you know, if you ever make the same offer when you're sober, I'll snap it up."

"I don't think I'm ready," Hermione confessed, hating to admit it even to herself. "I've only just broken up with Ron, and I don't want to get involved in some rebound thing."

"I'd rather not be a rebound either," Draco said. "I'm just saying that if you ever feel like making the same offer when you're ready, I'll be waiting. I'm not going to pressure you, Hermione, but it was very clear last night that there was something between us."

"There was," Hermione agreed with a nod. Once she pushed through the embarrassment of the previous night, she could remember just how heated the atmosphere had been between her and Draco when she was on top of him.

"But it's too soon," Draco finished for her. "As I said, I don't want to pressure you. Let's just see what happens, shall we?"

"That sounds good," Hermione said. "I better go and get dressed. Thanks again for being so understanding, Malfoy."

"You're welcome, Granger," Draco replied. "See you next time."

Blushing at the innuendo in Draco's voice, Hermione headed into her own bedroom where she grabbed a shower and freshened herself up. She would forever be grateful that Draco was a gentleman and turning her down when she was drunk. Next time she paid him a nocturnal visit she would be sober and would know exactly what she was doing, and he wouldn't turn her down. But for now, she was grateful that Draco was a decent person, and he hadn't taken advantage of her in her drunken stupor.


	8. Underwear

**Underwear.**

Head Girl, Hermione Granger, stealthily made her way to the small underwear shop in Hogsmeade. Her situation was getting out of hand, and if she didn't buy herself some new underwear soon, she would be forced to attend lessons without underwear. It wasn't that Hermione hadn't arrived at Hogwarts with any underwear, it was just that her secret boyfriend, Draco Malfoy, had a tendency to ruin them. If he didn't rip her knickers, he pocketed them as a souvenir.

Slipping into the shop undetected, Hermione browsed the shelves and sorted herself some new underwear. In the end she spent far more than she'd intended, but she couldn't resist buying a few sexier pieces. Slipping her new purchases into a larger bag from the bookshop, so no-one would see she'd been in the lingerie shop and started asking questions, Hermione headed off to join her friends for lunch.

After lunch the group went their separate ways. Harry and Ginny headed off to spend the afternoon together, while Ron joined up with Dean and Seamus with the intention of heading to the quidditch shop to browse the new stock. Meanwhile, Hermione decided she would just head back up to school. When she'd left that morning, Draco hadn't had any plans to do anything, so she might be able to spend a few hours with her boyfriend.

By the time Hermione reached the castle, she was eager to spend the afternoon with Draco. She might even model some of her new underwear for him. Of course that was after she'd given him a lecture about how much she'd had to spend replacing the underwear he'd either torn or stolen. Entering the head dorms, Hermione found Draco sitting on the sofa, idly flicking through a quidditch magazine.

"Hey," he greeted, looking up at Hermione and smiling at her. "Did you get anything nice?"

"Just some underwear," Hermione replied as she pulled out the bag containing her lingerie. "Do you have any idea how much I spent on this lot?"

"No idea," Draco quickly answered, his eyes sliding across to the alcove that led to the small kitchen. "Maybe you could tell me later."

"Oh no you don't," Hermione said with a tut, taking Draco's shadiness as him trying to wriggle out of trouble. "This is all your fault. You're the reason I've had to go and buy more underwear."

"Sorry," Draco replied, flashing Hermione a quick smile.

"Instead of sorry, you could try giving me back the underwear you've stolen," Hermione continued, getting on a roll. "I know you can't replace the ones you've ripped, but you don't rip all my knickers. Some you just pocket. I've tried searching your room for them, but they have to be in your trunk as that's the only place in your room that is locked."

"You've searched my room?" Draco questioned, surprised by the revelation.

"I was desperate," Hermione answered with a shrug. "I was running late for Potions, and you had all my underwear. The rest were all either ripped or in the wash."

"So if you didn't find any in my room, what did you do?"

"I transfigured one of my bras into a pair of knickers," Hermione admitted. "My only option was going without, and knowing my luck I would have bent down and flashed the class, or worse Snape."

"That could have been amusing," Draco said with a chuckle.

"No, it would have been mortifying," Hermione protested. "And if that happened, I never would have forgiven you. I'd rather the whole school didn't know that you've either torn or stolen my entire underwear collection."

"It's certainly something I could have gone my whole life without knowing," an amused voice drawled from the kitchen alcove.

Hermione whirled round and paled when she spotted the Potions Professor, Severus Snape, standing in the alcove. The smirk he was wearing could almost rival the one her boyfriend usually wore.

"Professor Snape," Hermione stuttered, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. "How long have you been there?"

"The entire time," Snape replied. "And before you ask, I heard everything."

"Why didn't you warn me?" Hermione hissed at her boyfriend.

"I tried," Draco answered with an unconcerned shrug. "You just wouldn't listen. You were intent on making me feel guilty for ruining your underwear."

"And that didn't work," Hermione snorted. "You're not at all bothered, are you?"

"I'll make it up to you," Draco promised with a wicked smirk.

"Not while I'm still here," Snape interrupted. "In fact, I think I'll be going. I've heard more than enough this afternoon."

"Professor Snape," Hermione called as the Potions Professor strode towards the door of the common room. "You won't tell anyone what you heard, will you?"

"What do you think I'm going to do, run down to the staff room and inform the other Professors that the Head Boy had a penchant for stealing the Head Girl's underwear?" Snape asked with an arched eyebrow. "There's no need to panic, Miss Granger," he added with a chuckle as Hermione looked at him with wide eyes, unsure if he was joking or not. "I won't breathe a ward about what I heard. Although Draco, I would recommend you control yourself in future. People will talk if they find you have a trunk full of ladies undergarments."

"And just how will they find out?" Draco asked with narrowed eyes.

"I do tend to get a bit loose lipped when I drink too much firewhisky, and it just so happens that tonight I'm going to the manor for dinner, and you know your father always has the best liquor on offer," Snape replied, a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes.

"What do you want?" Draco asked with a sigh, knowing when he was being blackmailed.

"How kind of you to offer your assistance, Draco," Snape said with a sly smirk. "I've got a few first years in detention on Monday evening. I don't like first years, so I would be very grateful if you watched them while I spent my evening doing something much more pleasurable."

"Done," Draco reluctantly agreed.

"I'll see you in my classroom at seven," Snape said breezily as he said his final goodbyes and exited the head dorms.

"Wow," Hermione remarked when Snape was well and truly gone from their sight. "Until now, I've never truly appreciated just how sly Snape is. He's a true Slytherin."

"Yes, he is," Draco agreed with a nod. "So now it looks like I've got first years in detention to look forward to on Monday."

"Poor thing," Hermione chuckled. "I'll make it up to you. I can give you a fashion show of what I've bought. Some of it is very skimpy, and I'm not sure I can pull it off."

"I'm sure you can," Draco replied with a grin. "And I promise, no more tearing. I'll be careful."

"And stealing?" Hermione questioned.

"Now, that I can't promise not to do," Draco said with a smirk. "Although I will have to find a new place to stash my haul. I wouldn't put it past Severus to let it slip to Father just for the fun of it."

"I'd still appreciate it if you didn't steal every pair of knickers I own," Hermione argued as she grabbed her bag of shopping. "Or else one day, I really will have to go to classes without any underwear on."

"Easy access, I like the sound of that," Draco joked.

"Watch it," Hermione warned. "Or I'll be taking your undies."

"Makes no difference to me, I don't wear them half the time," Draco replied with a shrug.

Hermione chuckled, knowing that Draco was right. The majority of the time when he undressed, he hadn't bothered with underwear.

"So, I was promised a fashion show," Draco prompted. "It wasn't an empty promise, was it?"

"No," Hermione replied with a smile. "Let's go upstairs."

Hermione took hold of her boyfriend's hand and led him upstairs, where they headed into Draco's room. True to her word, Hermione modelled her new purchases for her boyfriend. And true to his word, Draco didn't rip any of her underwear when he helped her get out of them. He also didn't steal any, although Hermione knew that wouldn't last. Sooner or later, he'd manage to nab some of her underwear and in a few months she'd have to go and buy a whole new bunch. Although maybe next time, she could take Draco with her and he could pay for some of the underwear. After all, it was only because of him that she now had to spend extra money on lingerie.


	9. The Kiss

**The Kiss.**

Hermione Granger stalked along the quiet corridors of Hogwarts, eager to get away from Gryffindor Tower. For six years, Gryffindor Tower had been her home in Hogwarts, but these days she was feeling increasingly uncomfortable when she was there. Initially she'd thought that it was because at the start of seventh year she'd been given private dorms away from Gryffindor Tower which she shared with the Head Boy. But now she was realising it was nothing to do with her new status as Head Girl, it was because of her best friend, Ron Weasley.

Hermione and Ron had been friends since first year, and over the years Hermione had developed romantic feelings for her friend. However, Ron had either been oblivious to her feelings or had chosen to ignore them and had instead looked for romance elsewhere. The previous year he'd embarked on a relationship with Lavender Brown, whose interest in him had purely stemmed from the fact he'd become a quidditch player, and it proved to Hermione that Ron would never see her as anything but his friend.

Hermione had worked on accepting that all she and Ron would ever be was friends, when he'd changed everything by declaring his undying love for her a few months previously. Hermione was stunned as the thing she'd desired for so long was put in front of her on a silver platter. After years of being indifferent to her, Ron was suddenly in love with her and Hermione should have been over the moon. The only problem was, Ron had no sooner declared his love when Hermione realised she didn't want it. She hadn't honestly thought she was over him, until he offered himself to her and she realised that it was no longer what she wanted.

Unfortunately, Ron did not take Hermione's rejection very well. He accused her of only wanting him when she couldn't have him, and not really loving him at all. Hermione had told him that maybe if he'd paid her some attention earlier, she might still have wanted him. The end result was a rift developing between the pair of them, and it had been steadily growing all year. Not that it stopped Ron from trying to change her mind about dating him as he seemed convinced that if Hermione gave him a chance everything could get back to normal.

Part of Hermione couldn't help but think that she should give Ron a chance. Maybe he was right, and if she gave their romance a chance they could get back to some semblance of normality and she wouldn't feel as uncomfortable around him. However, the sensible part of her knew that she didn't want to be with Ron, and it was just be unfair to them both to offer him false hope. Not that she could entirely be sure of what had prompted her change of heart as she would have sworn that the previous year she would have jumped at the chance to date Ron.

Still mulling over her tangle private life, Hermione entered the head dorms fully intending to spend the afternoon with her homework. However, when she entered the common room she found the Head Boy, Draco Malfoy, had his own work spread over half of the large desk that she intended to use. Unsure of what to do, since she didn't want to study in the small confines of her room, Hermione stood frowning at the blond Slytherin, wondering why he wasn't down in the dungeons with his friends.

"Glaring at me like that, won't make me go away," Draco remarked with a slight smirk as he raised his head to catch Hermione's eye.

"I wasn't glaring," Hermione objected. "I was merely deciding where I should study."

"What's wrong with here?" Draco asked. "The table is big enough for us both."

"You mean study together?" Hermione asked in shock.

"Afraid I'm going to bite, Granger?" Draco questioned with a teasing grin. "And here was me thinking we were getting along just fine."

"We are," Hermione conceded.

She couldn't deny that living with Draco had been far easier than she'd anticipated. At the beginning of the year she'd been dreading having to share rooms with the Slytherin, but they'd made a truce on their first evening and things had ran smoothly since then. Of course they still bickered, but they no longer insulted each other, and more often than not they found themselves in agreement on how to conduct head duties. They'd even spent a couple of pleasant evenings reading beside the fire.

"So what's the problem?" Draco asked.

"No problem," Hermione replied decisively as she pulled her wand from her pocket and summoned her school bag.

Hermione settled down opposite Draco to begin her own work, but she soon found she couldn't concentrate. Her mind kept replaying her latest altercation with Ron as she wondered if there was any way she could have handled things differently. Had she not let him down gently enough and was he keeping up the animosity as his way of getting back to her, or had she not been clear enough when she told him no and was he genuinely clinging to the hope she would change her mind? Hermione wasn't sure, but she did know that unless she could get Ron to back off completely their friendship was going to end up in tatters.

Less than forty minutes after sitting down to study, Hermione had managed to write a couple of paragraphs. With a loud, meaningful sigh, she slammed shut her arithmancy textbook, threw her quill onto the desk and rubbed at her aching head.

"Are you okay Granger?" Draco asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Fine," Hermione answered shortly, not even looking up to see if the blond was being genuine or if he was trying to irritate her.

"Okay, but just say if you need help," Draco said. "I can see how you've been struggling with that Arithmancy essay. I finished it last week, so I might be able to help you."

"I do not need your help," Hermione spat, raising her head and glaring at Draco as she let her frustration with Ron seep out and focus on the Slytherin opposite her. "Why would I need your help? I'm the top student in our year, and I regularly outshine you in every subject. If anyone should be helping someone, I should be helping you. So no, I do not need your help."

Draco gazed at Hermione in amazement, but before he could even begin to formulate a response to her baffling outburst, she abruptly jerked to her feet and not bothering to pack her work away, she flounced off up the short staircase that led to the bathroom and bedrooms. Hermione stormed into her bedroom, loudly slamming the door behind her, and flopped on the bed in annoyance. Burying her head in her pillow, Hermione let out a scream of frustration.

Rolling onto her back, Hermione lay staring up at the ceiling as she tried to calm herself. As her anger and annoyance subsided, they were replaced by stirrings of guilt. As her earlier words floated around in her head, Hermione winced at how she'd just spoken to Draco. It was Ron she was mad at, not Draco, and it hadn't been fair to take her frustration out on the blond Slytherin. All he'd done was try and be nice, and Hermione had lashed out at him in a totally unnecessary way.

"You are such a cow," Hermione muttered to herself.

Hermione knew she had to go back and apologise to Draco, but since she'd been so horrible she was in no hurry to go and face her fellow head student. She remained in her room for nearly an hour plucking up the courage to go and apologise. When she did emerge from her bedroom and go back downstairs she found Draco had stopped walking and was lounging in a chair beside the fire, his nose in a book. All his school books were packed away, while hers were still on the table, although Hermione did note that they'd been tidied up.

"Come back for more, Granger?" Draco asked, sliding a bookmark into his book and carefully placing it on the floor beside the chair. "Not that I can think there's much else for you to say. You made yourself very clear. You think you're better than me."

"I think no such thing," Hermione replied quietly.

"Really? You certainly gave that impression not an hour ago," Draco snorted.

"I'm sorry," Hermione offered. "You were being nice and I threw it back in your face."

"It wasn't very pleasant," Draco admitted. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to be nice?"

At the last second, Draco's lips curved upwards in a smirk and Hermione could tell he was just teasing her. Despite the fact she still felt awful, and wasn't quite sure he'd accepted her apology, Hermione couldn't help but smile back at the blond Slytherin.

"You're very good at it," she said. "And if I wasn't such a cow, I wouldn't have lashed out at you."

"Why did you?" Draco asked, his curiosity evident. "You don't strike me as the sort of person who's too insecure to accept if they need help."

"I'm not," Hermione replied. "Your offer was lovely, and if you don't mind, I'd like to take you up on it. I have been struggling with the assignment, which is why it's still not finished."

"Just say when and I'm at your service," Draco said gallantly.

"Thank you Malfoy," Hermione returned with a smile. "And I really am sorry."

"I accept your apology," Draco said. "And if you ever fancy telling me what the real problem was, I'm always here to listen. I'm quite a good listener you know, all my friends confide their problems to me."

"But do you help solve them?" Hermione asked.

"I try," Draco answered with a shrug. "So do you want to share the real reason for your flip out?"

"Not yet," Hermione said. "But I appreciate your offer. I still feel bad for how I shouted at you and I feel as if I should make it up to you, so is there anything you want from me?"

"There is one thing," Draco answered with a slow smirk as he rose to his feet.

"What?" Hermione asked warily. She was thinking something like doing extra patrols to give Draco some extra free time, but it was clear from the devious glint in his grey eyes that he had something else in mind.

Instead of answering, Draco closed the space between them in a couple of strides. Hermione still wasn't sure what Draco was going to ask of her, and she found herself tongue tied by his close proximity. Even though they'd been sharing dorms since the beginning of the year, they'd never been as close and Hermione was very aware of how appealing he was. Not only was he very good looking, but he smelt amazing.

"Draco," Hermione whispered, finally finding her voice.

"Hermione," Draco returned with a slight smile at hearing his first name falling from the Gryffindor witches lips.

"I thought you were going to tell me what you wanted from me," Hermione muttered.

"I'd rather just show you," Draco replied.

Hermione frowned in confusion, but understanding suddenly lit up her eyes when Draco leaned towards her. Even though she'd worked out what he was going to do, it still took her slightly by surprise when his lips landed on hers. Hermione initially froze at the contact, but within a few seconds she'd given herself up to the kiss and wound her arms around Draco's neck. For a couple of minutes the pair remained locked in a steamy embrace, and they only separated when they needed air.

As she gazed up at Draco with lust filled eyes, Hermione gasped slightly as a realisation dawned on her. The reason she didn't want to be with Ron was because someone else had stolen her attentions. She hadn't realised it, but sometime during her time living with Draco she'd fallen for the Slytherin.

"Now that was an apology, Granger," Draco said with a smug smirk. "Feel free to shout at me again if I get a kiss as an apology."

"Why did you want a kiss from me?" Hermione asked in a whisper as she tried to come to terms with the fact she'd developed feelings for the Head Boy.

"Why do you think?" Draco questioned with a laugh. "I wasn't sure I was ever going to get one otherwise. I saw the opportunity, and I couldn't resist."

"But why did you want to kiss me?" Hermione pressed.

"Why else do wizards want to kiss witches?" Draco laughed. "I like you, Granger."

"You like me," Hermione repeated quietly.

"Do you want me to kiss you again to prove it?" Draco asked.

"I wouldn't say no," Hermione returned.

Not one for needing asking twice, Draco pulled Hermione back in his arms and reconnected their lips. Their second kiss was even steamier than the first and Hermione was so lost in Draco's embrace that she whimpered in disappointment when he broke the kiss.

"I could do that all night," Draco confessed in a slightly breathless voice.

"You'd get no complaints from me," Hermione replied with a shy smile.

"Seriously?" Draco checked. "You like me?"

"I would have thought the way I responded to the kiss would have shown that," Hermione chuckled.

"You could just have been blown away by my amazing technique," Draco replied with a cocky grin.

"You're so conceited," Hermione muttered with a roll of her eyes. "I might have to take it back. Maybe I don't like you after all."

"I could always persuade you to like me," Draco suggested, flashing Hermione a wicked grin. "I can be very persuasive."

"I believe you," Hermione replied. "And I don't need to be persuaded to like you, I already like you. I just needed to be kissed to realise it."

"Damn, if I'd known that I would have kissed you months ago," Draco tutted.

"I wish you had," Hermione whispered, thinking about all the hassle it might have saved with Ron. Maybe if she'd been with Draco, Ron wouldn't have declared his love for her and they wouldn't be in the mess they were in now.

"Me too," Draco replied. "But hopefully it's not too late."

"No, it's not too late," Hermione confirmed. "So what do we do now, Malfoy?"

"How about we get to know each other a bit more," Draco suggested as he took hold of Hermione's hand and led her over to the sofa. "Starting with why you kicked off earlier."

With a sigh, Hermione confessed everything that had been happening with Ron. She still wasn't sure how things would progress with Ron, or Draco for that matter, but it felt good to talk to someone about her problems. Maybe with Draco's support she could find a way to deal with Ron and his unwanted attentions. Who knows, maybe if something developed between her and Draco, Ron would finally accept that they were never going to be more than friends. Ron's chance with her had passed, now it was Draco's chance, and Hermione was hoping that he didn't blow it the way her best friend had.


End file.
